This section provides background information related to the present disclosure, which is not necessarily prior art.
Active grille shutters are used in vehicles to improve fuel economy, such as by reducing drag. When the active grille shutters are closed, however, the amount of airflow through the engine cooling module is undesirably reduced. A system that allows a heat exchanger of an engine cooling module to receive an adequate amount of fresh airflow regardless of whether the active grille shutters are open or closed would therefore be desirable. The present disclosure advantageously provides for a combined heat exchanger and active grille shutter assembly that addresses these issues in the art, as well as numerous other issues as explained in detail herein and as one skilled in the art will appreciate.